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Urban Meyer tells incredible story about Mike Leach after tragic death

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•12/13/22
Urban Meyer, Jacksonville Jaguars football coach
Jacksonville coach Urban Meyer surveys the field before a game on Dec. 12, 2021. (Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)

The college football world is still grappling with the death of Mike Leach, the Mississippi State coach who was one of the most vibrant personalities in the game. Seemingly everyone connected to the sport has their own Mike Leach story, each as meaningful, charming or hilarious as the last.

Former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer chimed in on Sirius XM College Sports radio on Tuesday, sharing his memories of Mike Leach with Rick Neuheisel.

“The other Mike Leach that I know, Rick, is the Key West Mike Leach,” Meyer said. “I’ve been to his house many times. The Captain Tony’s (Saloon) where he has the stool there. Just became such good friends over the years that at least three, four times a year I was down there to see him.”

Leach’s Key West crib was a popular spot to meet with the eccentric college football coach, though you’d be equally likely to end up spending a day with him out on the water.

Meyer recalled many of those trips.

“We went out, we had mutual fishing friends,” Meyer said. “When I shared the news with our fishing friends last night it was heart-breaking. Because he was as much fun on a fishing boat as he was. He loved life, enjoyed life. I know he loved sharing in his beautiful kids and his grandkids. That legend will carry on for many; that legend will never go away.”

Death of Mike Leach rocks college football

Whatever you thought of Mike Leach as a football coach, relatively few of the stories that have poured out across the globe in the wake of his death have been about what happened between the lines on Saturdays.

Mike Leach the person has been the real loss so many have mourned. The seemingly carefree and always-optimistic attitude he carried, knowing to never let a moment of life slip by, permeates the shared memories.

“The stories of him on his skates, he would wear rollerblades or whatever he does down there, rollerblading through the streets,” Meyer said. “He loved life and loved Key West. I mean loved Key West. I still know his house very well. I sat out back by the pool. I used to even go when he wasn’t there, and I’d always take pictures of me and say, ‘Hey, we’re using your house for the evening.'”

Even when Leach wasn’t physically present he had a way of moving people if they crossed into places he had orbited, crossed paths with people he’d met along the way.

“He was a legend down there,” Meyer said. “Captain Tony’s, (the owner there), he was the one who was kind of giving me every 20-minute updates because he’s so close to the family. But he owns Captain Tony’s and you walk in and you see the Washington State helmet on the side of the wall and Mississippi State helmet on the side of the wall. That one will never go away.”